


Alpine Clematis

by prettygirllostt



Category: Original Work
Genre: Demons, F/F, F/M, Fairies, Fantasy, M/M, Modern Fantasy, Multi, Science Fiction, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23202592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettygirllostt/pseuds/prettygirllostt
Summary: IN the early days of space travel it was humans who went. They covered their bodies in suits, pumped canned air and recycled water into their tin cans and they reached for the stars. In the early days, magic was a myth. In the beginning it was men who sought the stars but soon...it became the others.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> This story is one that spans hundreds of years. It came as an idea: What if magical beings were the ones who traveled in space? Magic and science working together to make longer missions with creatures that could sustain them. It's still a baby story but I hope you enjoy it!

IN the early days of space travel it was humans who went. They covered their bodies in suits, pumped canned air and recycled water into their tin cans and they reached for the stars. In the early days, magic was a myth. 

For thousands of years those with magic hid. The fairies tucked their wings into the muscles of their backs and hid pointed ears behind their hair. The demons put caps on their teeth and drank thick wines so no one would notice the blood. The witches and mages tucked spellbooks between romance novels and cookbooks on their shelves and weaved magic into cleanliness. No one suspected the truth. 

In the year 2125 a video made its way around the internet. A young mixed blood girl, both demon and fairy, flying in her family’s garden. It was debated as a hoax and dismissed just as quickly but it was as if that single moment opened a floodgate. Videos of witches levitating to reach high objects surfaced, then of demons running faster than their human friends. Suddenly, the world was filled with creatures that weren’t human and the world’s secret became public knowledge. 

The adjustment took time as most things do. Riots and religious fights broke out over cities. Fae hid in the woods and demons took to their Under World kingdom where their magic had been born. Witches became covens once more. But then something happened, something changed. The first fairy was elected as mayor. A demon became a supermodel. And slowly, the world began to accept the changes. 

In the beginning it was men who sought the stars but soon...it became the others. 


	2. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew for the Alpine Clematis is chosen

**Magic: ma-gic. Noun.**

**The inherent ability of living entities to control organic matter.**

**Science: sci-ence. Noun.**

**The learned control of organic matter by a living entity.**

Olivar Coral looked out at the recruits and snorted, arms crossed across his broad chest. 

“You really think this is the best we can do?” he asked his assistant. She pushed her glasses up her nose and blinked twice, first her human eyelids then a second, cloudy set. 

“I don’t think anything, Mr. Coral. Ms. Karria chose them,” the young woman said. 

Olivar sighed heavily. “Let me see the paperwork again.” 

The woman was quick to hand it over, webbed fingers sticking slightly to the laminated sheets. When he raised his eyebrows at her, she flushed a deep green. “It’s moss season,” she said. 

“Lovely,” he said dryly, wiping the leftover slime from the edges. 

His assistant, a mixed blooded kelpie with the personality of seaweed, shrunk back. He ignored her. Today was the first day of testing for the recruits meant to go on the biggest odyssey IMSA would ever undergo and they looked like a bunch of children playing astronauts. He wasn’t impressed. Flipping through the papers he saw an air creating Fae, a water bringing witch, an energy adept half demon, triplet dragons as the official science team, one of ice, one of electricity and one of the very rare power of nature, and of course the nationally decreed human. He didn’t care about that particular file. The humans were always worthless. Too easily killed with minds that were too fragile. 

“Where’s the healer?” he asked, flipping through the sheets again.

“Um...that would be me, Mr. Coral,” his assistant said. 

He blinked. Turned to her. “What’s your name again?” 

She blushed. “Firth Everstream.” 

“Your file isn’t here.”

“That’s because you hired her. Honestly, Olivar. If it’s not your precious ship, you just don’t care, do you?” Estar Karria, director of American Magical Flight said with cool amusement as she entered the room overlooking the testing space. 

“I don’t need some teething, moss driven sea snail on my ship!” he snapped.

Estar grinned while Firth blushed hopelessly. While Olivar was pure Fae male, she was purely demonic female and she knew from experience that they were evenly matched in a fight. “Take it up with...well...me I suppose,” she said and he growled. She smacked his arm with gloved fingers. Demons didn’t touch those they weren’t emotionally bound to and Estar was famous for not touching anyone. “Calm down. She’s qualified. They all are. I was coming in here to see why you were wasting time when you should be testing but I can see why now.”

“And a cook?”

“They all cook. Andromeda bless, Olivar, you’re like a grouchy mother hen. Stop complaining and go meet them!” 

“I’m waiting for Carl,” he said stiffly and Estar’s smile widened. He hadn’t heard the news. She was delighted to be the one to tell him.

“Carl’s wife is pregnant,” she started and he froze as her smile seemed to take over her entire face. “He’s staying here. Can’t be gone for nearly five hundred years or more with a baby on the way. Especially not with a mixed baby. If he came, he might never get to meet the child. So I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

“You’re not flying this mission with us,” Olivar said automatically. Carl was his co-pilot. He was half Fae, half human and he had a mixed blood wife. They had feared she couldn’t conceive and she’d said goodbye to him for the mission with his blessing to take up with their demon neighbor. Now, it seemed, he wouldn’t need to be jealous at all. Olivar sighed as Estar grinned. 

“I believe I am. Now, come along. Both of you. It’s time to meet the crew.” 

The crew consisted of members between the ages of 90 and 300, though the human was a mere 30 years old. Firth was the youngest outside of that at 91 and the oldest, not including Estar, was the witch at 295. The age range was strictly policed by IMSA as it was the peak age for magic to be harnessed but strong and it guaranteed at least 200 more years of service. It was also not too young which cut down on brash behavior. IMSA boasted the highest rate of surviving star travelers of any space service. NASI, the American service that trained the single human for IMSA space flight, had one of the highest mortality rates though they claimed that came from further explorations into deep space than any known flaw. 

Captains such as Olivar were allowed to be older though he was only 196, one of the youngest captains in the service and the youngest to ever be given the opportunity for this kind of mission. He flipped through the personnel files again as they entered the room. It seemed the triplets were family but the witch was married to the demon as well and the Fae had a long standing relationship with the electricity dragon, though it wasn’t stated what it was. 

“So you all know each other,” he said gruffly without introduction. They sat up straighter at his voice. He didn’t notice the appreciative stares of the dragon triplets, the electricity dragon running her tongue over her lips before her brother elbowed her. 

“We don’t know her,” the half demon said, pointing to the human who was trying very hard to make herself small in her chair.

Olivar shrugged. “But you all know each other,” he said.

The half demon nodded. “Lira is my wife, Echo, Ishka, and Moss are triplets, and Tiffany has been training with them since she was a kid.”

“And you’re the voice of the group?” Olivar asked, raising a single eyebrow as he took in the thin half demon. The young woman’s lips twitched. 

“Only because no one else wants to do it. Hi, Firth.” 

The kelpie hurried to sit beside the half demon and smiled gratefully at her. 

“So you’re...Beck. You think you can run the whole core by yourself? You’re only 98,” Olivar questioned. 

“Ms. Karria is here, isn’t she?” Beck asked with a grin. Olivar looked over at Estar in surprise.

“Why did you think I was allowed to join you? Or did you forget I started as a core technician?” the demon purred. Olivar ground his teeth. They hadn’t even begun and already the insolence was giving him a headache. 

“You’ve all served before?” he asked instead.

“Andromeda Five,” the triplets said together. 

“Neptune 250 and Saturn’s Rings, ongoing,” the witch, Lira quipped. 

“Dwarf planet mining,” Tiffany the fairy responded. 

“Ten lunar landings,” Firth said quietly.

“Andromeda Five and Neptune 250,” Beck said. They all looked at the human woman. She trembled.

“Um...I’ve been to a Mars landing base,” she offered weakly. 

Olivar rolled his eyes. Of course they’d sent a newbie. Deep space trips, long ones, worked best on green humans who hadn’t seen the expanse of space before. They tended to go mad more slowly. It also meant they were useless on the ship for at least a year. 

_ “We have to bring the water blood?”  _ he asked Estar in common demonic. IMSA employees learned three languages in core dialects before flight. Fae, demonic, and human English. NASI didn’t require any languages and the human blinked at the sudden change of sound, shivering as it grated down her spine.

_ “It’s policy and you know it. If we don’t, they take away our sanction. Would you like to give up this mission?”  _ Estar replied. When Olivar ground his teeth, she nodded.  _ “I didn’t think so. Take heart, Olivar. Andromeda guides us, not them. If she dies, no one will care.”  _

He turned back to the human. “And you’re...Sarah Kaplan.” The name sounded odd on his tongue. It was rare to meet a pure human nowadays. Many mingled with the Other Kind to gain longer lifespans and touches of magic. With such, it was no longer the wife who took the husband’s name but the human who took the Other Kind name. Very rarely did a human still hold such a mundane name. “There’s no Other Kind in your blood?” he asked, this time sounding curious. 

The girl, smaller and plain next to the group of immortals, shook her head. “My mom says god gave us life as it is and it should stay that way.” 

“Andromeda guides us, not your god,” Estar said. It was the sharpest thing she’d said since Olivar had seen her that day and he nodded. 

“We don’t anger the goddess before a mission, Ms. Kaplan.”

Quickly, the woman nodded. Olivar turned his attention back to those he deemed useful. Or, at least more useful than the human. “Since you’ve all been into space we’ll skip the overview. You know how it works. Today is our first training day. I know you’ve trained for years. Some of you for longer than Ms. Kaplan has been alive,” he said, snorting when Sarah flinched. “I know you’re probably talented. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t. But I don’t know you and right now, I don’t trust you. As you all know, IMSA training is meant not just to judge if you have the strength and mental fortitude for a task, but to train you as a team. In that ship we will be all we have. This flight takes 100 years both ways. Once we reach our destination, it’s at least 200 more studying the planets we find. If we find a place for a settlement, we’ll make it and wait for another crew to relieve us. We have to trust one another. I’m heartened by your connections. Strong relationships make for a strong crew but you need to prove it to me. In these three weeks we’ll train and then, if I deem you worthy of flying with me, the real work begins.” 

“Where do we start?” Ishka asked, electricity crackling in her eyes. Olivar’s lips tilted a touch. 

“Follow me.” 

SARAH didn’t know what she was doing here. She’d been slated for a lunar landing and nursery leader when the call for a deep space flyer came in. She hadn’t been interested but her best friend had pushed, telling her that anyone could run a lunar nursery but deep space flight looked great on a resume. If Sarah were on the  _ first  _ colony in the farthest galaxy a ship could reach without spell induced stasis, she’d be famous. She could work on any ship, in any station or on any planet. 

All she wanted was to be away from Earth. She hadn’t been born on the Earth but her mother had always spoken of it. Growing up in the last true human colony on Mars had been nice but when her mother passed, she’d taken her money and come to the land of dreams, the place where magic had been born. She’d thought it would open up opportunities for her. That she’d make friends with immortals and see casual magic everyday. She thought she’d be in awe. 

Instead what she’d found were humans who stuck their noses up at sky born humans and Other Kind who didn’t want anything to do with humans, claiming they didn’t live long enough for it to be worthwhile. She couldn’t find it in herself to be a pet to an Other Kind as most of her human friends were and so she’d joined NASI in the hopes of finding a new home among the stars. The moon would have been fine, but no, she had to be talked into this. She trailed behind the rest of the crew who chatted amongst themselves, joking and laughing. Even Estar, the fierce faced demon who ran the program, smiled as one of the dragons, Sarah couldn’t remember which, made a comment on the changing of the uniforms. 

“So, is it the need to get away or some really deep daddy issues?” Beck asked, startling Sarah out of her thoughts.

“What?”

“Humans don’t just join IMSA for fun. I mean, International  _ Magical  _ Space Association? The name is pretty exclusive, right?” the half demon chuckled. 

Sarah took her in. Cropped short hair with red tips and red-gold eyes that seemed to glow. She was thin but muscled and had scars on her hands that looked old. She grinned easily and nudged Sarah with her shoulder. “Come on. I’m trustworthy. What made you offer yourself up for this gig? I mean, it’s awesome for us but for you? Seems like a one way trip into crazy town.” 

“It looks good on a resume,” Sarah mumbled. It sounded stupid now and sure enough, Beck laughed. Sarah blushed. “Why are you talking to me?” she asked the half demon. Beck’s laughter faded and she shrugged.

“My dad’s human. Whenever I go on these treks I think of what I’d want someone to do for him. So. I try.”

That was kinder than Sarah expected and she blinked in surprise. “You’re married to the witch.”

Beck’s smile softened and she looked ahead to Lira. “Yeah,” she said softly.

“Are you two…” Sarah searched for the word. “Mated?”

Beck’s laughed again, loudly enough that the others looked back and Sarah was reminded of their perfect hearing. She blushed as Beck answered. “Hell, no. Course not. That’s rare and tends to be in powerful demons. My grandma was mated to her husband but no one in my family has been since. Just plain ol’ love here.”

“That's ...good,” Sarah said lamely. 

Beck laughed. Sarah wondered how someone could laugh so easily and so often. “It is. My grandma used to say that her dad’s wisdom of love should be passed down. Something along the lines of ‘love is a choice. A mate isn’t.’ Which essentially means falling in love on your own is more special.” 

“Oh,” Sarah said. They walked in silence for a minute until Beck said, “So why did you really come here?”

Sarah blushed. They were nearly to the first training ground. It would be a team building activity to test their levels of trust. They would do this particular test three times in their training. If someone fell below the trust gauge, they would be asked to leave and training would begin again with someone else in their place. Sarah assumed if anyone would be asked to leave it was her, though she’d been assured that humans were rarely replaced as their trust gauge was lower. She looked at the course as they got closer. It looked lethal. Spikes on the floor, fire in the middle, and a net of barbed wire above them. They would cross on wires in the suits they would wear for space walks. It constricted those with wings and dampened the powers of them all but the suits would also protect them from too much harm should they fall. She paled. She’d heard of these courses. Things popped up as they went. Even the pureblooded among IMSA hated them and she could hear the triplets muttering as they got closer, complaining about the inevitable blood.

“Don’t worry,” Beck said quietly. “I’ve got you. Lira will help too.” 

Lira fell back to her wife and linked arms with her. Where Beck was muscled, Lira was soft. They wore the same uniform but it seemed to make gentle Lira look like the wind while Beck looked like a tree, unmoving in a storm. Lira, with her gold ringed eyes that showed she wasn’t human, smiled gently at Sarah.

“Don’t let her bully you,” the witch said, her voice musical. “You don’t have to tell her anything. She’s just nosy.” 

“You’re a water witch?” Sarah blurted. She’d seen covens before but never spoke to them. Most were too busy healing or working in medical compounds to stop and speak with their human relatives. Of the Other Kind, witches were the closest to humans and were often the most caring. 

“I can move water, yes. It’s why I’m on this ship. But I’ve also been the carrier when needed. It’ll be my job here, as well,” Lira explained patiently. 

Carriers could levitate objects, making loading and unloading faster for those on a ship. They could also shrink and grow objects if they were strong enough. Lira’s ability to grow and shrink things had already made her invaluable. She’d helped to stock the ship with the things they couldn’t create along the way. 

“That’s cool,” Sarah said. She took a deep breath as the group stopped in front of the course. 

“You don’t want to know why she isn’t the healer?” Beck asked eagerly. Lira rolled her eyes as the others snickered. 

“Oh, that’s a good story!” the male dragon said.

“Echo!” his green skinned sister hissed, elbowing him. Sarah filed away the name. “That’s rude!”

“Lira doesn’t care,” Echo said lazily. 

“Even if I did, Beck wants to tell it,” Lira grinned.

They all looked at Olivar who sighed heavily then gestured. If the point was to be a team, social bonding could be allowed. Even if he thought it was ridiculous. 

Beck threw her arm around Firth’s shoulder, the kelpie wincing as her glasses slipped down her nose. She hastily pushed them back up as Beck started loudly, “Once upon a time-”

“Oh, Andromeda gag me now,” Ishkar, the silver skinned dragon murmured. Beck glared at her then cleared her throat and continued.

“There was a lovely, powerful witch named Lira. She trained with her mother, a well known surgeon in the Boston Magical Med Compound, but Lira’s magic was rooted more in nature than in healing. No matter how much she trained, she couldn’t seem to best the green in her blood,” Beck beamed at her wife who did, indeed, bleed green. “But still, she persisted. She made it through school, right into the final testing of the program to be certified when…” Sarah found herself leaning in with the others. Tiffany, the fairy, sniffed as Sarah got close but said nothing. “During the final…”

“Oh for stars sakes! I grew a tree! In the middle of surgery!” Lira cried. The group roared into laughter, even Sarah, who had a hard time fathoming such a thing. 

“Um...how?” Sarah asked when the laughter petered down. Tiffany hid her laugh and Moss, the green dragon Sarah had decided, didn’t bother to cover her scoff. Lira only looked on kindly.

“My magic is rooted in water and nature. I was concentrating so hard on healing that I created a sprout. Healing magic is...it’s about…” she searched for the words and Firth piped in.

“It’s about fixing a whole. Life. Witches make good healers because they feel the pulse. Fae mages are good healers for the same reason. I’m a healer because the blood inside of all of us holds water and I feel it pulse. I can’t grow things, though my magic nourishes them. It’s why I’m a better healer in the long term. I won’t accidentally sprout plants when I’m working hard,” the young kelpie said, smiling shyly at Lira who nodded. 

“Exactly. When I’m trying to help someone live, I create new life. It’s my magic’s way of fixing the problem. I can still heal but...well...surgery is sterile and my magic isn’t,” she said. 

Sarah nodded, eyes wide. She’d learned more in the two minute walk to the course than she’d learned in her whole life on Mars. She couldn’t help but be curious but the moment was broken by Estar. 

“We really are behind schedule, I’m afraid,” the demon said and the others nodded, quickly falling back into a line. Sarah counted them, marking their names. Tiffany, the redheaded fairy with blue specks in her skin and slim fingers. Ishkar, the electricity dragon with silver hair and eyes to match her nearly glowing skin. Moss, the green dragon who looked at Sarah as if she were a plaything. Echo, the grey dragon with green eyes like his sister. Lira, the soft witch who smiled at her and her wife, the boisterous Beck. Finally Firth, who seemed apprehensive but proud. She looked at the two captains. Olivar was beautiful but so detached from them all it made him seem like a statue. Estar with her gloved hands was smug and Sarah had heard terrible things about demons like her so she quickly looked away. 

“You’ve all done this before,” Olivar said, sounding bored. “So show...Sasha? No, Sarah, the ropes.”

Sarah’s face burned as Beck nudged her gently. She wasn’t alone. Even if it felt like it. 

“Don’t fall in,” he finished, then stepped back. The first run would just be the crew. On the second, the captains would join but first they needed to see where the weakness was. 

Lira took a place on the other side of Sarah, Firth taking up the end. Tiffany was at the head, hand clasped in Ishkar’s, while the dragon reached back to her brother then he to his sister, who took Beck’s hand. Beck reached for Sarah. 

“Ready?” she asked. And it began. 


	3. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training for the crew begins and their relationships are introduced.

TIFFANY hated the trial run. It was the worst part of any program. She’d done them for every dwarf run she’d been on, even when the crew was the same and she still never stopped hating them. They were violent for violence sake and she winced as flame licked at the bottom of her feet. 

“Beck-” she started but the flames were already dimming. Beck wouldn’t be able to hold it for long but it would be enough for the fairy to cross. She didn’t waste time with a thank you. Instead, she ran lightly on the wire, wishing she could extend her wings. Wings didn’t work in space, though in the ship they had space to open them and a terraria for things such as flying and swimming to keep them strong. It meant that trainings were to be completed without the use of them as space walks wouldn’t permit them either. 

She hadn’t missed that she was the only fairy in the crew. Fae didn’t usually go into space travel. Though they praised the star goddess, most were happy to keep their feet firmly planted on the grounds they were born to. Tiffany was one of 25 pureblooded Fae to work for IMSA. It was probably why she’d been chosen for this odyssey. Of those 25, she was the strongest and the one without a family. She didn’t have time to look back at the dragon holding her hand but she could feel the heat in the woman’s palm. Ishkar. Her lover. Her married lover. She yelped as a razor suddenly cut into her guiding hand. That’s what she got for letting her mind wander. She kept her hand firmly on the painful wire and kept moving. Her blood dripped into the flame. 

“Tiff,” Ishkar said softly but Tiffany shook her head. 

“We can do this.” 

So they kept moving. Tiffany’s blood continued falling. Every few steps something new happened. A gust of icy wind, sudden heat that cause Firth’s glasses to fog. Anything that they could encounter and some things they couldn’t. Still, they moved forward. Beck took a piece of shrapnel to her hip and cried out, causing Sarah to slip. She held tight to the human girl, keeping her dangling above the lethal spikes but her hold on the fire slipped. Moss howled as it licked at her legs.

Through it all, Olivar watched with a clinical gaze. They only needed to make it to the other side. If they didn’t, the weak link would be assessed and possibly dismissed but if they made it, he would consider them a solid crew. Moss looked back at Beck and Lira who were holding the human girl up.

“Let her drop!” the dragon hissed. “Reduce the flame and let her drop!”

Beck snarled. “No! Keep going!” 

Tiffany did. The human didn’t matter. They never did. Sometimes they came back babbling from travel and sometimes they simply stopped speaking. Most humans who followed IMSA only went on one mission and then never returned to the stars. Their minds weren’t meant to go so far or so long. Tiffany dismissed them all and focused only on moving forward, Ishkar’s hand in hers. The test always looked short but she wasn’t fooled. It felt like hours, days, passed when they were on those ropes. She needed to focus. 

The end was close when a blade swung down. Lira shouted but Echo was quick, freezing it in place. Estar clapped while Tiffany edged forward again, face pale. Olivar didn’t betray a single thought. Beck had pulled Sarah back onto the rope, though the human girl was wheezing through the smoke from the flame and she let out a single cry when her hand hit the razor portion of the wire. Tiffany ignored them all. She made it to the end and jumped down, followed by the others. Firth had taken a blade to her shoulder and Moss’ feet were burned. Beck checked the wound on her hip and sighed as Lira blew into her shredded hands to heal them. Ishkar was mostly clear, though she had the marks of the razor wire on her hands and Echo had taken a shard of ice to his face. He dabbed at it as they gathered at the end.

“Worst team building activity ever. Why can’t we just do paintball?” Beck muttered. Firth bent to heal her hip and the half demon hissed.

Olivar was checking off boxes on a form as he joined them at the end.

“They added a swinging blade,” Moss said sourly. 

“IMSA’s just trying to keep its workers on their toes,” Estar said jovially. The dragon huffed. 

“We’ll do the leader run through after a debrief,” Olivar said, finally looking up. “This will include sexual protocol.”

Beck groaned loudly.

“Not all of us have our spouses on the trip!” Ishkar snapped. Tiffany flushed and looked at her feet. Moss rolled her eyes at the fairy’s misery and nudged her brother who nodded. 

“We all know the rules,” Beck protested.

“I don’t,” Sarah said meekly and Firth nodded. “I haven’t done a real deep space mission. Are the rules different?” 

Beck groaned and threw her arm over her wife’s shoulder. “Can we be excused?”

“You need to sign the waiver,” Estar said. “But yes.” 

Lira looked grateful. She would need the rest to heal her hands. Beck held out her hand and Olivar grudgingly handed it over. They both signed. “We’ll be in the lounge,” Beck said, giving a salute to the group before sauntering off.

“Is your partner not part of IMSA?” Firth asked Ishkar.

Ishkar shook her head. “He’s ground control. No space for him.”

“Ishkar has a mate,” Moss said with a yawn. “But he can’t reach her when she goes out of the atmosphere so sexual relations are...different.” She grinned at Tiffany who looked interested in the wall. Sarah looked between the four. 

“Oh,” she said. Firth only shrugged. 

“Demons don’t do monogamy. At least, not usually. The old royals used to have multiple spouses so they could have strong blooded children. That practice died out with the throne, but it’s not uncommon for demons to have a mate bond, a marriage, and multiple Claim bonds. They have to abide by the one spouse per person human rule up here though,” Firth explained. 

“Sin is more fluid,” Moss snickered. Ishkar smacked her so she yelped.

“Shut up.” 

“Which is why we’re going to talk about it. If you all would just come with me and listen,” Olivar said, rubbing his forehead.

“Yes, sir,” Firth said quickly. 

“We’re picking up the  _ Atlantis Pine _ when we swing by Neptune and they’ll join us for the rest of the journey, so the rules will apply to them as well,” Estar added.

Olivar turned sharp eyes to her. He hadn’t been told of that development. She shrugged slightly and led them into the meeting room right off the training course. It was used for debriefings and training discussions and had been set up for this conversation with an automated video. Firth, who had only ever completed training for shorter runs, looked at it with wide eyes. Tiffany, cheeks still red, crossed her arms and sunk back in her chair while the three dragons sat together, whispering. Ishkar tried not to look back at her lover. 

Ishkar had met her mate, or what dragons called a hoard, when she was 50. They’d both felt it instantly and had dated before marrying for a short year. Once married they’d realized their problem. Ishkar loved space. Dylan did not. So they had an agreement. When Ishkar was flying, Dylan was allowed another partner as was she. She’d met Tiffany in IMSA training and they’d taken to trysts in their bunks. This would be the first trip where their relationship wasn’t actually cheating. Ishkar didn’t know what to think of that. She could be with Tiffany in the open with the crew but her siblings knew the truth. She hadn’t been able to stay away from the delicate Fae. Dylan didn’t suspect and that made her feel even worse. She kept her eyes glued to the screen as the video started. 

Deep space missions had special rules for relations. Since they could span 500 years or more, IMSA had implemented rules. The alliance had found that without them, those on the missions became indiscriminate and it caused rifts. The rules, which if broken would result in magic stasis for the duration of the trip and a dishonorable discharge from the program, had become part of the company manual. They worked well and even those in flight couldn’t find much flaw with them even if they could be embarrassing. 

Olivar stepped in front of the group. He was used to flying with a mix of men and women. This group, with its single male dragon and himself, would prove to be difficult. He’d found crews with too many women tended to get tense. He could already feel the tension between Ishkar and Tiffany. Stifling his groan, he began reading the prompts.

“Sexual relations are allowed by IMSA employees on missions over 50 years,” he intoned. Sarah’s eyes widened at the number. “Spousal relations will never be prohibited on any mission cycle. For missions 100 years or more the rules are as follows.”

The screen changed to show stark red lettering on a black background. “For those in a committed IMSA relationship and signed off on by all partners, cohabitation is allowed but not expected. Relations in these cases will not happen in public spaces but rather in private quarters. If the couple in question is not bunked together, a nightly rotation will be worked out amongst the crew.” 

The next screen came up. “For those not signed up with IMSA’s relationship form, sexual relations are still allowed. The rules are as follows.” Bullet pointed notes came up on the screen as Olivar sighed loudly. “Rotations for those signed up will commence in the first year of travel. Spouses, if agreed upon in writing, may join this rotation after the first year. IMSA does not condone or condemn multiple partners.” 

Sarah flushed at the idea but Olivar simply kept reading, voice flat. 

“Rotation will go until preference is stated. If no preference is made clear, rotation will continue. Preference will be handled by the captain and co-captain at the time it is presented. It is by the captain’s discretion that rotation will either continue or be stopped.” The screen changed.

“If you do not wish to join the rotation, please take a denial form. This may be rescinded at any point in the mission but will need to be verbally confirmed as well as filed with the correct personnel.” 

Moss grinned at her siblings as she looked at Olivar. She couldn’t wait to join the rotation with him. He sighed.

“Finally, if pregnancy occurs-”

Sarah let out a squeak and he glared at her. Her face turned crimson and she quickly looked down. 

“If pregnancy occurs the crew member carrying will be expected to continue duties as long as they are fit. The healer, Ms. Everstream, will do daily check ups to keep the fetus healthy. Should a baby be born on the ship, the parents will be allowed a furlow of a year to care for them during which their duties will be taken over by the rest of the crew. In case of emergency, they will be asked to return. IMSA will have it known that new life is sacred to Andromeda and star children are the highest priority. Should it come down to the crew or the child, we will lay down our lives for the child. Any questions?” 

“Um...we’re just gonna...rotate?” Sarah asked shyly.

“You’ve never been on a long mission, Ms. Kaplan,” he said plainly. “It’s easier to have a schedule for this kind of thing.”

“Why do Lira and Beck get out of this?” she asked.

“They’ve both done these missions before and are married. They’ve signed the exclusivity clause.”

“And if we don’t want to participate...no one cares?” Sarah asked.

“No one cares if you don’t,” Moss laughed. 

“Ms. Scaleside, that is rude and inappropriate,” Estar said firmly. Moss stopped laughing and scowled. 

“Sexuality is your choice here, Ms. Kaplan. I know NASI has different rules but here we understand what a long term mission can mean. We try to make it as simple and friendly as possible. If you have a preference, you may speak with me privately as well. Humans don’t always do well with the cycle,” Estar explained.

“Um...and what if...you aren’t gay?” Sarah whispered.

Moss snickered until Echo elbowed her. She scowled at him too but he only blinked at her so she sighed. 

“Then you can sign up that way. We aren’t trying to force depravity on you,” Estar said gently. “It’s simply for comfort. Maximum pleasure without drama.”

“Pleasure,” Moss purred at Olivar who only rolled his eyes. 

“Attachment is allowed as well. I’ve performed marriages on flights,” he said. 

“Oh,” Sarah said. Firth patted her knee.

“I didn’t sign up on my first flight. It’s okay if you don’t do it.” 

“You’ve done it on others?” Sarah asked. 

Firth nodded, pushing up her glasses. “It’s a good release.”

“You’ve been quiet, Tiff,” Moss laughed.

Ishkar punched her sister’s arm. “Shut up!” 

The two dragons fell into an argument in dragon tongue while Tiffany sunk farther into her chair. Ishkar hadn’t asked for an exclusivity form and she was trying not to let that get to her. She’d never liked Moss. The dragon was brash and loud, her judgemental nature at odds with the new world of mixes. She’d made her opinions on Tiffany quite clear. The fairy was stewing when Firth leaned towards her. 

“You okay?” the kelpie asked quietly.

“Asking as the healer?” Tiffany asked snidely but Firth only shook her head, dark green curls bouncing off her shoulders. 

“No. You just look ...upset.” 

“I am,” Tiffany said shortly. 

Firth nodded. “I had a...thing...with a demon on my last flight. Four years exclusive and we’d chosen each other for the rotation before that. Then we got back and he just...walked away. I know it’s not the same but still. It sucks.” 

“Okay, the whole point of this is to lessen this shit,” Olivar said over the arguing dragons. “If you can’t handle it, I’ll remove both of you.” 

The dragons both stopped. 

“It’s her!” Moss cried, pointing at Tiffany. “ _ Sletvan  _ slut!” 

Ishkar snarled as Tiffany tried very hard to pretend she was anywhere else. 

“You’re the one causing a scene, Ms. Scaleside,” Olivar said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please. We have many things to do today and I didn’t have enough coffee to get through it if it’s going to be like this.” 

Moss sniffed but kept her mouth shut.

“Very good. Okay. We have another run through to get through. Someone go get the other two,” he said. Tiffany rushed to do it and the others followed her, Ishkar slinking behind her siblings.

“Why were those two allowed on the same crew?” Olivar asked Estar as they followed. 

Estar sighed. “They’ve been seeing each other on IMSA property for two years. HR didn’t think it would be a problem but it seems like it’s been...non-consensual with Ishkar’s mate. They’re struggling. I could ask for a replacement.”

Olivar looked down at the personal files. He scanned Tiffany’s then Ishkar’s. “Fuck,” he said. They were the best choices and they’d proved that in a pinch they could work together. 

“Moss is an amazing worker,” Estar said. “I’ve personally worked with her.” 

“I’m sure she is but if this shit persists while we’re up there…”

“You don’t want to spend over 200 years in the middle of drama?” Estar asked with a teasing smile.

“This is serious!” he snapped.

“Everything is serious to you, Olivar. Andromeda’s ass, calm down,” she said. “They passed the test with flying colors. We have time to make it clear what’s expected. If they can’t handle it, we’ll assess at the end of the week.”

“What’s your recommendation?” he asked.

She looked surprised. “You’re actually asking?”

“You run this division. You have to do some things right to get that job.”

She laughed. “Such a flatterer. My recommendation is to wait it out. They’re good workers and the triplets have proved to work best together. Echo calms Moss and Ishkar can be reckless without their checks as well.”

“And Tiffany?” 

“Best damn air creator I’ve ever met. She’s the only one on the manifest for a reason. If we replace her, you’ll need two to keep up the ship. With her? No redundancy needed.” 

“Who’s on the  _ Atlantis _ ?” he asked.

They were walking slowly towards the training course once more and Estar paused. “Koffer King, Liz Burnwell, Siest Ashwick, and Ember Star.” 

“Skeleton crew?” he asked. Estar looked distracted but he ignored her. Whatever she was feeling wasn’t for him to comment on. He didn’t want to get into anything personal until he had to. 200 years with a crew was enough personal time, as far as he was concerned. 

“Yes. The rest flew back 40 years ago,” Estar said.

“Who does what?” he asked. 

“You don’t know them? Of course you don’t. If it isn’t on the  _ Alpine _ , you don’t care,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

He didn’t bother to respond to that, only gestured for her to speak. She sighed.

“Koffer is the air officer with Liz on backup. The ship is on low energy mode while they do tests so he’s capable on his own. Liz is air and water. Siest is core with Ember to help if needed. They all take turns running tests on the atmosphere and whatever the probes bring back from the surrounding stars.”

“Why are we picking them up?” Olivar asked. Once more, a shadow passed Estar’s face but he ignored it. 

“It’s been decided that the  _ Atlantis  _ will stay in orbit around Neptune and work on more explorations. The crew didn’t sign up for that time and instead of sending a ship out just to get them, IMSA thought it would be more beneficial for the  _ Alpine  _ to grab them on the way by. It has the space and we could use the redundancies even if we don’t need them. This is a long trip. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a star child or two on board.” 

“By who? I’m sure as hell not fathering a child,” Olivar snorted. 

“There is another male on this crew and we’ll be picking up two more. Just because Moss seems ready to climb into your bed doesn’t mean you’ll be the only one,” Estar snorted. 

“Are you planning on a star child?” he asked. She rolled her eyes but there was a faraway look in her eyes.

“Of course not. But I am expecting some feelings to develop between the crew. This is the longest mission we’ve ever attempted. The longest time in a ship and if we find a new planet...well. We should start promoting interpersonal relationships,” she walked past him, her heels clicking.

“I need a uniform,” she called to one of the attendants who was scurrying by. They nodded and ran to get her one. “Time to work with the crew. Let’s see why they made you captain, huh?” she grinned at him and he clenched his jaw. Over 200 years with her. He couldn’t say he was excited. He walked to the course and took his spot at the front of the line. When she was ready, he took her hand.

“Let’s begin,” he said. His crew nodded. 


	4. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew works on getting to know each other days before they leave.

TWO weeks of training seemed short to those at NASI and Rebecca, Sarah’s best friend, complained of that as they spoke over holoscreen. Most things in their lives didn’t add up to what their ancestors thought the future would look like but holoscreens were the closest thing to science fiction. The screen took up the whole wall of Sarah’s room and she ate her cereal as Rebecca griped. 

“I mean, two weeks? Who does that?” 

Sarah shrugged. “They’ve all been training since they were like, 30. They’ve all done lots of deep space missions.”

“So they should have started training you earlier,” Rebecca sniffed.

“They did. I’m from NASI,” Sarah laughed. 

“That’s not the same and you know it. I heard their first training run is a ropes course of death,” Rebecca said.

Sarah sighed. “Yeah. That’s true. We did it twice on day one and another one yesterday. There’s one more before we leave.” 

“I know I told you this was a good idea but...hell, seems like a shit deal now.”

Sarah shrugged. “It’s not all bad. Beck and Lira are nice. Firth is okay. Olivar really knows what he’s doing and Estar Karria is coming with us too.”

“By the time you get there…” Rebecca trailed off and Sarah looked up from her bowl.

“I know,” she said softly. “But there was nothing here for me, either.”

“I just...don’t know if we thought this through. You’ll come back to...nothing. If you’re even still sane.”

“Hell, Becca, you’re the one who talked me into this!” Sarah cried, her hands shaking.

“I didn’t think you’d do it,” Rebecca mewled softly.

“It’s too late to stop.” Sarah’s alarm started beeping. She sighed deeply and dropped her spoon. “I have to go.”

“Sarah, humans go crazy in deep space. Be careful.” 

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Sarah replied shortly. 

She turned off the holoscreen and left the room, her food forgotten.

ISHKAR slipped from the bed naked, her silver hair cascading down her back. 

“You’re not going to sign the form, are you,” Tiffany asked, looking at the dragon tongue tattoo on Ishkar’s back. The dragon stilled. Tiffany sighed, her arm over her face. “I’m such an idiot.”

“Tiff…”

“No, don’t,” Tiffany sighed. “Just...don’t. We have training to get through and I don’t really want to hear your bullshit excuse. Demons can’t lie but you sure as hell know how to warp the truth. This is about Dylan. It’s always about fucking Dylan.”

“He’s my husband!” Ishkar snapped.

“Right. Which you haven’t cared about for what? Two years? And now we  _ finally  _ have a chance to be together in the way you two agreed and you won’t sign an exclusivity form with me. It’s not like he’ll know. He never fucking knows.” 

“It feels...dirty. Like I tricked him,” Ishkar said.

“You did! You fell in love with me and you didn’t tell him! At least own up to it! Shit, Ish, what are we doing?” Tiffany groaned. She rolled to her feet and stalked to the bathroom. “If you can’t admit it now, when it’s actually possible, what the fuck are we doing?” 

Ishkar jumped up and reached out, catching Tiffany’s arm. The redhead swung around with a snarl. 

“I can’t tell him,” Ishkar said softly. “He’s my mate. My hoard. I can’t...tell him that I’ve found someone else. That will break him. You can’t understand. It’s...different. With our kind, it’s so different.”

“Don’t place that demon crap on me. I don’t care. You fell into bed with me and you were mated to him. Now you want to feel guilty? Fine. But it’s not my problem,” Tiffany cried. She wrenched her arm free. “Join the rotation. Fuck Olivar and Estar and Firth and maybe even that human but I’m done. I won’t be in your rotation. I’m fucking done.” 

The alarm went off as she slammed the bathroom door. Ishkar groaned and fell back onto the bed. They had hundreds of years together but guilt would eat her alive. She crossed her arms over her eyes and ignored the blaring noise. Dylan had blessed her to be with someone else. He’d even be fine if she had a star child. She didn’t know why she couldn’t accept Tiffany as her exclusive partner. She didn’t want to join the rotation but signing the form felt final. Like all the things she’d been doing that were wrong were suddenly okay. Tiffany came charging out of the bathroom ready for the day of training. 

“We’re going to be late,” she said flatly.

Ishkar didn’t bother to call after her as she left the room. She didn’t even know what she’d say. With a heavy sigh, she pulled herself from the bed and got dressed. They were leaving soon. Then they’d have plenty of time to deal with it. 

BECK was an early bird. Lira was not. Lira groaned at the sound of her wife jovially humming long before the alarm was meant to go off. The half demon liked to exercise and then eat a healthy breakfast while Lira would rather lie in bed and rise right before the alarm, a doughnut shoved in her mouth. Beck had already been awake for an hour before Lira heard her and she grinned before pouncing. 

“Last few times we’ll be alone, alone,” she said with a grin.

“Get your crazy, exercising ass off of me,” Lira mumbled into her pillow. 

“Come on,” Beck coaxed. “I’ll do you first.”

“You’re the worst,” Lira grumbled but she rolled over onto her back. Beck laughed. She wiggled under the blankets and Lira smiled when she was sure Beck couldn’t see. 

“I know you’re smiling,” Beck said, voice muffled by the sheet. Lira smacked her back.

“Less talking,” she commanded. Beck laughed and followed the command.

When the alarm went off both women were ready for the day, if not a little breathless. 

MOSS and Echo stayed in the same room with two different beds. It had always been their choice. When Ishkar wasn’t with Dylan or Tiffany she joined them. The demons, all three made in the original creation pits of the dragon city, found that it was more comfortable for them. They’d grown up in a city of their own kind and sometimes struggled with the Upper World. Space made sense. Science and magic and machines all were easy. Other people were hard. Moss bordered on cruel and Echo spoke rarely. Most people found them cold and they usually liked it that way.

Moss was making her bed as Echo ate breakfast and she snapped the top sheet, gritting her teeth. “I can’t believe she suggested that mudskin for this trip.”

“Careful. That’s a slur. It’ll get you kicked off the mission,” Echo said blandly. 

Moss hissed. “She pushed this. You know they wanted Holmuck and Pex but she insisted Tiffany was better than two. Now we’ll have to deal with that little tramp for what? A thousand years?” 

“You’re being dramatic. Besides, Ish loves her. She’s just having a hard time figuring out how,” Echo said. He had always been the level headed one. The one who brokered peace between his hot headed sisters. 

Moss shook her head. “She loves Dylan. The fairy is nothing.”

“You don’t know everything,” he said. 

“She isn’t requesting exclusivity! Will you sleep with the fairy?” Moss demanded.

Echo shrugged. “If she’s in the rotation and the need hits me, sure. It’s just sex.” 

Moss shook her head, a vine sprouting from his cereal. He picked it out, unaffected, and kept eating. 

“I won’t,” she vowed.

“So don’t,” he echoed.

“I won’t!” she cried. He nodded and she let out a shout of frustration. She slammed out the door. Echo watched her go before finishing his cereal. When the alarm went off, he turned it off and left the room. 

FIRTH felt out of her depth. She’d woken up early to study the demon healing manual again and she sat at the small table in her room, legs crossed and a bowl of seaweed snacks beside her. She ate one absently every few minutes and she scrunched up her nose to push up her glasses as they slid. There were more demons on this trip than she was used to and three pureblooded dragons weren’t her usual patients. She was sucked into the book and didn’t notice the time passing until the alarm went off. She jumped at the sound and hurried to shove a few more scraps of seaweed into her mouth before shutting it and hurrying off. 

OLIVAR had to be on the grounds earlier than his crew. It was part of being captain. Today the crew would see the  _ Alpine Clematis  _ in its full glory and he was inspecting it before they arrived. Unlike original human space travel and even unlike the NASI ships that took off from the same landing pads, IMSA prided themselves on their ships feeling homey. They had to, for how long people were awake in them. The  _ Alpine  _ was the most ambitious project of IMSA’s and it had taken only three journey’s since its creation. This would be its longest trek. It boasted a living wing with moderate bunked rooms, a water tank room with recreational tanks, a large, shared bath space, science quarters that spanned an entire level, a nature level for food, air, and water creation, the captain’s level where the directing of the ship took place, an exercise room, kitchen space with dining area, and a communal living space, all housed in a circular shape above the core room. 

He inspected each of the three levels and two sublevels before the others had even woken up. It was where Estar found him. He was pulling out each core stone, checking their strength and the strength of their backups when he heard her heels on the hard floor.

“How are you going to survive without those? Should I buy you a bell?” he asked without turning around.

“Congratulations, you made a joke. Should I expect another in 100 years or so?” she replied. 

He didn’t smile as he turned to her. “The nature floor needs some extra help and this core stone should be replaced.”

She nodded, tapping her finger on the digital clipboard she held. 

“What?” he asked. 

“You’re very dedicated,” she said.

“That is part of the job, isn’t it?” he asked, looking at the mechanism for stasis. Though they didn’t plan to use it, he wanted to be sure it would function if it was necessary.

“More dedicated than most. No children. No partner. No real friends. What do you do outside of this?” she asked.

“Is this another psych evaluation? I thought I passed that,” he replied, turning to look at her full on. 

She sighed. “I’m just concerned. Your last missions were easy next to this. You’re one of our brightest stars. A rising captain. No one has any complaints about working with you.”

“But?”

“But no one loves it, either. You’re impeccable when it comes to work performance but this is a long trip. You need to bond with your crew or you’ll go crazy. We leave in three days and then it’s this place for the foreseeable future. Do you even like any of them? Have you noticed?” she asked.

“Beck was top of her class. Military bound but she was too reckless so they shoved her here. She’s talented. Young, but the finders agree her lifespan is great thanks to her bloodline. Lira is tough and a healer in a pinch. Graduated top of her class in medical and in magic, which is a powerful mix. Add in her water abilities and she’s the smart choice. Moss is a rare find. Not only is her element barely created, she’s impossibly good at reading organic material. She’s been the lead scientist on multiple science trips that yielded new organisms. Echo-” 

“I’m not asking if you know their files. Hell, Olivar, I’d be surprised if you hadn’t memorized them. But what about  _ them? _ ” she stressed the final word.

“Will you take me off this mission?” he asked. She blinked in surprise and pushed back a loose strand of hair.

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

“You’re interrogating me,” he snapped.

“I’m not! Andromeda’s ass,” she muttered. “You need to bond with your crew. Take them out tonight. Get them drunk. Do something wild, and stupid and reckless before they only see you as their boss. That’s all.”

“And you?” he asked with a small sneer.

She shot him a brittle smile. “I’m part of the crew, aren’t I?”

He snarled as she turned to go. She tapped the doorframe. “I’ll have them check the core.” 

When the click of her heels had disappeared down the hall, he slammed his palm into the core drawer, shutting it harder than was necessary. 

THE final days of training were always the most hectic. By the time dinner rolled around, the crew was exhausted. Tiffany sat with Firth and ignored Ishkar’s imploring eyes while Moss made snide comments about rain and mud just loudly enough to be heard by the fairy. Echo ignored them all, reading up on the forming of ice chunks in deep space and the magic behind melting them at an even pace. Beck leaned on Lira, stealing grapes off her plate and dipping them in blood before eating them while the witch yawned and smacked her hands away. Estar watched them all, though her gaze snapped to Olivar as he stood.

They were in the public dining hall of IMSA south and there were other crews eating and laughing in the room but his crew turned their eyes to him as soon as he rose. He’d always commanded respect but he’d come to grudgingly admit that Estar might have a point. This was the longest trip he’d ever make. Probably the longest any of them would make. They’d all be above the max age of service for IMSA by the time they returned. If they returned at all. These people would be his family for better or for worse and he should embrace them.

Even if he wasn’t quite comfortable with the idea. 

He cleared his throat. “I’d like to...celebrate...tonight. By the end of the week we will be on our way to the greatest space odyssey ever attempted. This crew will take to the stars and map our way to a new galaxy. You are all exceptionally talented. Tonight...I’d like to find out how stupid you really are.”

The joke fell mostly flat, only Echo snorting slightly, but Estar smiled in encouragement and they hadn’t turned away from him so he continued. 

“I’ll be taking you all to a bar,” he said, stumbling over the words. He usually only went to bars to drink alone and think about how the next mission would go or what he could have done better on the last one. “Where I’d like to get to know you all.”

Lira raised her hand. 

“You don’t need to raise your hand. This isn’t a class,” he said.

“Right,” she replied, quickly dropping her hand. “Um...do we have to?”

Olivar’s mouth opened and then shut. “No...I suppose you don’t.”

“It’s just that I’m so tired and we have to get up early tomorrow…”

“Don’t worry!” Estar said, stepping in cheerfully. “I’ll be pushing back morning team building. If you all attend tonight. Sometimes team building needs to be less conventional.”

“Oh. Okay. Then I’ll go. Normal clothes?” the witch asked, touching the sleeve of her uniform.

“Of course. Olivar will meet you all down in the lobby at 9,” Estar said jovially. 

The crew nodded and all stood to dress and prepare. When they’d all filed away, he turned to Estar with raised eyebrows. “I thought I was taking them out.”

“You are but you were floundering. Go get changed. You do own jeans, right?” she asked with an innocent smile. 

He snorted and stalked away. She beamed at his back. She thought that this might possibly be fun. 

THE group didn’t quite know what to do once they’d all met. There was an awkward, tight, silence among them as they waited for Olivar and when he joined them, he too seemed at a loss. 

“Do you know any good bars?” Estar prompted.

“I don’t usually leave the base,” he replied. 

She sighed, picking at the tips of her gloves. “Luckily, I assumed as much and I chose a place. Everyone ready?”

“Are you paying?” Beck asked. Lira elbowed her.

“Olivar will get the first round. If he doesn’t leave the base he must have all that money stored somewhere,” Estar said. Olivar scowled at her. 

“And after that?” Beck asked. Lira smacked her arm.

“I’ll pay for round two. After that, you’re all on your own,” Estar said. 

Beck slid her hands into her pockets and nodded. “Kay. Cool.” Lira rolled her eyes and slid her arm around her wife’s waist.

“Mooch,” she said, kissing Beck’s cheek. Beck only grinned. 

Firth had a large bag strung across her and Echo was carrying a book. Sarah looked plain next to the others with their makeup and immortal looks. Tiffany was once more ignoring Ishkar and Moss was doing a spectacular job of glaring at the fairy who pretended that it wasn’t happening. Olivar wondered if maybe he should have just taken them all to get a root canal. 

“Let’s go.” 

The bar Estar had chosen had a wobbly wooden dance floor in the center, raised by water damage and scuffed by the shoes of those who used it. The music was scratchy over the old speakers and Beck joked that even her grandmother, born in the 1990’s, would find the place old fashioned. It was a town bar, filled with locals who didn’t see much of the IMSA workers. The bartender was quick to serve them when he noticed the logo on Firth’s bag. He quickly launched into questions about their trip and was fascinated by Estar’s responses.

“Good thing we wore gloves,” Moss said, nose scrunched up hard as she swiped her finger over the sticky bar.

“It has character,” Lira said softly and Beck beamed at her. 

“Dance first, then drink,” she decided, pulling her wife away. 

Lira giggled and followed. The music was older, from a time when their parents or grandparents might have enjoyed it and Beck crooned the pop song into her wife’s ear until they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be heard. 

“Sarah?” she asked. They’d done this on their first trip together. It had been their bonding activity. Now, it was how they figured out where they sat in a crew, even if they weren’t serving together. 

Lira shrugged. “Fine. For a human.”

“Think she’ll last the whole trip?” Beck asked.

“No. But I don’t think any human would,” Lira sighed. 

“We’ll keep her young,” Beck said. Estar’s blood had been harvested for the task.

“Human minds…” Lira trailed off.

“Yeah,” Beck said. “It’s too bad. She’s not bad.”

“No. She isn’t. Moss?”

“Bitch,” Beck said immediately. 

“But?”

“Predictable. Easy to avoid confrontation. Or make it happen,” the demon grinned.

Lira rolled her eyes. “Echo?”

“Boring!” Beck laughed. “I’m glad I’m not in the rotation.”

“You’re gay,” Lira pointed out.

“I’m bi,” Beck retorted. “I’d have tried it but I’m sure it would be boring.”

“Ishkar and Tiffany?” Lira said, staying on task.

Beck sighed. “Tiff is nice. I do like her. This drama though…”

“Yeah, I’m with you. I know we aren’t supposed to meddle but…”

“Ish is really staying married to Dylan? This trip is pretty much saying goodbye to everyone you know. I already said bye to my brothers. You did the same. I wouldn’t have come if you weren’t coming too. This is too long to be away without it having...implications,” Beck said. 

“He’s her soul bonded mate,” Lira reminded her gently.

“So? My grandmother was mated to my grandfather but still slept with other people. She loved other people. Hell, he married other people too. And I’ve seen mates go their separate ways. I don’t know. I think...Ish just isn’t ready to admit it yet.”

“So we drop it,” Lira said firmly. “It’s not our place.”

“Fine. Firth?” Beck asked, spinning Lira in a slow circle as the song changed.

“Adorable,” Lira grinned. “Her nose turns green when she blushes.” 

“Awww you like her. If you met her first?” Beck joked. Lira smacked her.

“That girl is straight as an arrow. Besides, I’d get bored. Doesn’t mean she isn’t cute.”

Beck laughed. “You’re right. And as a healer?”

“Talented. I saw her work in the front line infirmary for the Fae holding the line in Syria,” Lira said more seriously. “She’s nervous everywhere but in a healing center. She’ll do fine. Plus it’s nice to have someone else with a tie to water. Tiff isn’t that great with it.”

“Which just leaves…” Beck looked over at Estar and Olivar. Estar was drinking, talking to Moss and laughing while Olivar looked miserable. 

“Twenty bucks says he falls for someone on this trip,” Lira said.

“No bet. Your ancestors were Seers. I know not to mess with you on this shit,” Beck replied. 

Lira grinned. “I don’t know who, though. Just that it’s an option.” 

“I think he’s a good a leader. We’ll see how he does with the personal shit,” Beck said. 

Lira nodded. “And Estar?”

“Hiding something,” Beck said shortly.

“Agreed,” Lira hummed. 

“But good at her job,” Beck finished.

Lira nodded. “Yeah. She’s gonna help you with the core?”

“Not like I need it, but yeah,” Beck boasted. 

Lira pushed her with a laugh. “So cocky,” she chided. 

“You love it,” Beck murmured. She nuzzled her wife’s cheek and spun her, knowing they were being watched.

Ishkar swirled her blood martini and looked at Beck and Lira, so absorbed in one another.

“Do you wish Dylan had signed up to come with us?” Echo asked. He had his book on the bar but had yet to open it.

She sighed. “I don’t know. He’s never gone up before. It seemed selfish to ask him to come on this mission when it could be the last one we ever do.”

But it’s not selfish to push Tiff into the crew?” he asked bluntly. She flushed and sipped her drink.

“Tiff’s flown before,” she said, evading the question. 

“He always knew you loved the stars. Why do you feel bad about this?” he asked. Moss was ignoring them which is how he liked it. Ishkar would never admit the truth to her haughty sister. 

Ishkar didn’t reply for a long time. She stared into her drink and soaked up the noise and chaos of the bar around them. Olivar was attempting to talk to Firth though the kelpie was nearly vibrating in her seat from nerves and Tiffany was sitting with Moss and Estar who were arguing loudly over the scientific significance of ice crystals found on the Andromeda 5 missions. They were alone. No one was listening but still, she couldn’t make herself say it. 

Echo ducked his head, silvery hair falling into his eyes. “You aren’t choosing her,” he said blandly. 

She blinked hard. Her hands shook. 

“So that is it. You pushed to have Tiff put on this crew. You didn’t beg Dylan to come even knowing how long we’ll be gone. That’s why it’s bothering you. You feel like you’re choosing her.”

She resolutely kept her mouth shut. 

“But you can’t pick her now because you feel guilty. Hell, Ish, just pick one and let yourself be happy,” he said.

Echo very rarely spoke with such emotion. Usually it was when he was angry. She looked at his face, studying her brother. Demons were created in pits in the Under World. Pure blooded demons had no heartbeats, only stones of power with mixed blood from their parents. Their power stemmed from that. They were also created knowing their purpose. Most demon parents in the new, shared world only offered their offspring a chance at happiness but the triplets had been given one goal: to take care of each other. Their mother had watched her brothers die in a war between the original demons and dragons and she hoped only for her children to survive with a bond to one another. Sometimes, that ingrained need reared its head. It seemed like it was right now. 

She touched his arm. “I’m fine.”

He knew she was trying to give him an out. A way to drop the conversation that wouldn’t leave that terrible tugging in his stomach. He only leaned closer. “Not all mates marry and live together happily.”

“Stop it,” she said sharply.

“You love Tiff. She loves you. We’re about to get on a fairly large ship but we’ll be stuck together for a very long time. You won’t feel Dylan or hear his thoughts. You’ll see her. Every day. Which is what you wanted. So stop torturing yourself and do something about it,” he said more firmly.

“No,” she snarled, snapping to her feet. “Fuck off.” She stormed across the room to Beck and Lira who opened their arms to let her join them. Echo watched Tiffany stiffen at the sight before the fairy downed her drink and looked away. He sighed and opened his book. 

No one noticed Sarah at the bar. She wasn’t the only human but she was the only one in a group of immortals who all knew each other. They would always swallow her up, she assumed. She pulled out her phone and began texting Rebecca. She didn’t like the way they’d left things that morning and she wanted to fix it. It took only a minute for her friend to respond and she sipped her beer as she typed, not looking up at the group who obviously didn’t care about her. 

Firth was nervous. She was a generally nervous person, she knew, but Olivar was imposing and his stiff social etiquette didn’t help. She desperately wanted to escape but nodded along with his stumbling story about the cracked core stone on his last mission. 

“It took two tech’s to fix but they did it. The  _ Alpine  _ is a hearty machine,” he finished. She decided not to mention that he said his ship’s name with the same kind of warmth some people talked about their friends and family. She nodded more vigorously. 

“I’m very happy to serve on it,” she said. 

“As you should be,” he said loudly. She shrunk into her seat a bit. There was a long lull where neither knew what to say. Firth stared into the shimmering cocktail he’d bought her. It was the first one on the menu and tasted like sour berries. It had glitter in it. But Firth didn’t drink much and she’d chosen quickly so she wouldn’t seem inexperienced. Grimacing slightly, she forced herself to swallow another small bit. “So...you...worked...in the medical bay. Before this,” Olivar tried. 

Firth nodded. “Fae division. This is new to me. But I’m up to it!” she squeaked. 

“Relax, Ms. Everstream,” Estar laughed from behind her as she and Moss approached. Tiffany had sat beside the silent Echo, soaking up his quiet. “It’s not a job interview. Even if Mr. Coral makes it feel that way.”

“Estar,” Olivar said with a warning frown. Estar beamed. 

“I’m just helping. Did you know, Olivar made a joke today? It might have been his first.”

Moss smiled up through her lashes at him. “I’d like to hear a joke.”

“I think Olivar is too serious to joke with us now,” Estar laughed. 

“Do we call you Olivar? Or Captain Coral?” Beck asked loudly as she and Lira came closer. Firth slipped from her seat and Beck fell effortlessly into it, grinning easily at the Fae man. Firth wondered how anyone could possibly be so at ease. 

“Usually I’d expect Captain-”

“Or Cap,” Estar said just to watch him scowl. 

“But this is a long trip. I believe first names will be fine,” he finished. 

“What if we want to call you Ollie?” Beck asked.

Estar laughed. “Oh, I like you, Ms. Craft,” she said to the demon who beamed.

“Olivar,” the Fae said firmly. “Is informal enough.” 

Beck shrugged and relaxed in the chair. “Seems fair. I don’t want anyone calling me Rebecca.”

“That’s your full name?” Sarah asked from the next table over. The others looked surprised. They’d all forgotten she was there.

“Yeah, Rebecca Cosima Craft,” she said. “Cosima is my grandmother’s name. She nearly had a heart attack when mom put it in my name cause she wasn’t dead yet but mom said Jewish law doesn’t extend to immortals.” She grinned.

“You’re Jewish? But you’re a demon,” Sarah said avidly. 

“Dad’s Jewish. So was my grandma before she became pure blooded. Mom kept it. Married a good Jewish boy and made Jewish babies,” Beck shrugged.

“But you fly by Andromeda,” Sarah pointed out.

“Who says Andromeda and god aren’t the same? There are lots of scholars debating that right now,” Beck grinned. “Lemme guess. Christian human community. Those are usually the ones that stuck.”

“No denomination,” Sarah said defensively.

Beck shot back the rest of her whiskey and laughed. “Yeah right. That’s what everyone says but they don’t mean it.”

“We fly by Andromeda,” Estar said firmly.

“Damn straight!” Beck replied jovially. She held up her empty glass and Lira clinked her own against it. The others lifted their glasses and murmured the same. Firth quietly slipped from the boisterous group and found her way to Tiffany and Echo. Tiffany looked her over.

“Not one for crowds?” she asked with a sniff.

“They make me nervous. I grew up in a kelpie colony by the ocean. It was quiet,” Firth explained.

“I so don’t care,” Tiffany drawled. She took a shot and tapped the counter for another. Echo barely looked up as he said, “Careful.” 

“Are you...okay?” Firth asked softly.

“Nope,” Tiffany said. She took the second shot and sucked it down. Tapped for another. Echo flipped a page in his book. 

“Do you-”

“No,” Tiffany said, voice hard. She stood up, fluffed her long, red hair, and crossed the room. A gaggle of humans were sitting there, watching the group with wide eyes and she plopped down with them. “Wanna see some magic?” she asked. Firth looked away as Tiffany began to use air to make their glasses move across the table. 

Echo sighed heavily. 

“We have a long time to figure it all out,” Firth offered. 

He looked up for a moment. “I suppose,” he said before looking back down. 

Firth watched him turn the page and then shrugged. She’d left her drink on the table now surrounded by part of the crew and she reached into her bag, pulling out the book on demon healing and anatomy that she’d been looking at that morning. Plopping it down next to Echo’s, she flipped to the page she’d been on.

“Diet Coke?” she asked the bartender who nodded and poured it. Echo watched out of the corner of his eye as Firth sunk seriously into her reading. For a moment, he allowed himself a small smile and then looked back at his own page. 

Olivar was out of his depth. He’d known Firth didn’t care about the ship or his past missions but he didn’t know what else to talk to her, or anyone else for that matter, about. He’d made IMSA his life from the first day he’d started school. His father had taught him of the sky. The man had wanted to reach the stars long before IMSA had existed and it was because of him that Olivar had gone into space flight. He didn’t have the mind for science but he was a good leader. He was calm in a crisis, understood machines, and was gruff enough that people fell in line. He wasn’t amiable like some of the other captains. He didn’t draw people to him but no one died working under him and the ships always returned in good shape. That was what he prided himself on. He liked having a solid crew who worked well and quietly. It seemed that that wouldn’t be the case on this trip and he resigned himself to the loud sound of Beck’s laughter and Estar’s endless teasing. 

They were talented, all of them, but he’d never tried to know his crew personally. Usually, when they met in the evenings for drinks or to watch a movie he’d stay in his bunk or check on the mechanics of the ship. This time though, as he turned to go, Estar’s gloved hand caught his arm. He looked at her and knew what she was trying to tell him. Stay. Talk to his people. Learn about them. He didn’t want her to be right but he knew she was. They called it an odyssey for a reason. They might never return to Earth and if they did it would be vastly changed from the world they lived in now. They would need each other and even if he didn’t want to join in with them, he needed to promote a family feeling among them all. 

He looked at the bar, surprised to see Firth and Echo reading side by side. From all of the notes in Echo’s file, he didn’t think the dragon liked anyone but his sisters. Tiffany was drunkenly flirting with a group of humans, giggling as a man stroked her arm and glitter trailed after. He rolled his eyes at the rudimentary spell. Sarah had backed away from the group after her question to Beck and was staring at her phone, typing quickly and smiling slightly at whatever was said. The rest were still in the group, laughing and talking over one another. Olivar tried to look at them as friends but he’d never had many. IMSA wasn’t the type of place to make friends. Or so he’d thought. He watched Lira telling Moss a story that had the dragon howling with laughter as Ishkar and Estar spoke to Beck about the differences in mixed blood and pure blood education. With a sigh, he took a swig of beer. He was stuck with them all. For better or for worse. He was ready to accept that. He turned back to the group. Outside, the stars called to him but soon enough they would find him. Soon enough. 


	5. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An interlude before the crew leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been changing the chapters as I edit along so some of these are fairly short.

THEY had passed all the tests. Each member of the crew would sit down with Olivar for one final discussion but every mental and physical evaluation had finished. Their teamwork was solid and IMSA was ready to send them into space. They had one more day on Earth and would be allowed to use it as they saw fit. 

Sarah couldn’t believe it. She had one more day on this strange planet that was supposed to feel like home. One more day to look at the blue sky and breathe air without needing a helmet. Though the IMSA suits were better than NASI’s or the colony, they were still suits. Still things needed to live away from the planet they were made for. She wanted to run. She wanted to scream. She wanted to stay nearly as much as she wanted to go. She sat outside at one of the picnic tables and watched the clouds move, jumping when Lira sat beside her.

“It’s always hard to go,” the witch said. “I never like the last day. I always wish they’d ship us off at night the minute they’ve signed off on us. It’s torture to see this place and know I won’t be coming back for so long. And this trip...we might never come back at all.”

Sarah shivered. “I probably won’t,” she said softly.

Lira looked at her. Weighed her options and then said, “No, you probably won’t.”

“When Becca, that’s my best friend, told me I should do this I just went with it. Now she says she was kidding. She didn’t think I’d go through with it or that I’d get picked. She showed me the statistics of humans on IMSA flights. Even if I do make it back...I won’t be sane, will I?” Sarah asked in a whisper.

Lira shrugged. “You might.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“I’ve...never seen a human come back happy. Even if they aren’t certifiably insane, they come back different. Quiet. Seeing all of that...living for that much longer...it’s torture. But you wouldn’t even make it to Jupiter if we didn’t make your life longer. Most come back and just...stop. They live in NASI or IMSA housing and let themselves go. This trip...you might never come back,” Lira said. 

Sarah’s hand trembled and Lira took it in her own. 

“I wanted to find a home,” Sarah confessed. It was what she hadn’t told Beck that first day but it felt like she had to say it now. If she didn’t, she might die with that secret. “I never really liked Mars. Mom always talked about how humans were the purest form of life, even if we popped up after the Fae and she talked about Earth non-stop. She didn’t want to go back until all of you were gone but I had never seen it. So I came here when she died to get that closure. I thought it would be perfect but...no one really likes humans. The world just swallows you up.” She squinted at the sky. “So I joined NASI because I knew Mars and I could understand the moon settlements. But I met Becca and she wanted adventures and knew I did too so...this opened up and I thought she might have just been daring me. Seeing how far I’d go but I really wanted something else. I want something else,” she clarified. “I just don’t know if this trip was the best choice.”

Lira was quiet for a moment. “Your first flight, especially your first into deep space, is always terrifying. I met Beck on my first deep space flight. She’d flown one before and a few shuttle runs as a guard to the moon. She’s the only person I’ve ever met who isn’t afraid the day before. She’s never sorry. Never looks back. Says her family has always been like that.” Lira smiled slightly. “I never got to meet her grandmother and her great grandmother was human and long gone before she was born but the stories...her family is all stories. They run into things. At a sprint. Beck obviously has that trait. She signed up for deep space trips to see more and she just eats it up. She runs the core, keeps the stones working and pushing but she does it to see things. I try to think of it like that. To see the stars like she does. When it gets hard...I go to Beck. I did even before I was in love with her. She has this way of seeing it that just...awes me.”

“I’ve never been in love,” Sarah whispered.

Lira shrugged. “Lots of people haven’t. I hadn’t until I met her. Not like this, at least.”

“How does she see the stars?” Sarah asked, hoping for something she could hold onto.

“She sees them like a blessing. Like she’s meeting Andromeda out there. She told me once that her great grandma left a letter that they all read when they come of age. About blessings and life. It’s something about finding joy in life and where there’s joy, there’s god. She takes it to heart. If you ever feel lost out there...talk to Beck. She’ll show you god.” 

“That’s a nice way to look at it,” Sarah said. Lira squeezed her hand.

“It is. And it’s not how most people see it. So. If you’re freaking out over the size of it or the fact that everything is different or that everyone you know will be dead when we get back,” she smirked slightly when Sarah scowled at her. “Come talk to me. Witches live a long time but not as long as demons. I’m taking blood supplements too. The finders said my lifespan should be good but I want to be sure I make it. I want to see our new worlds.”

“You want to see god,” Sarah said. 

Lira smiled. “Exactly.” 

ISHKAR cornered Tiffany on her way from her meeting with Olivar. “I’m not joining the rotation,” she said.

The fairy sniffed. “That’s just because it would be Estar and Olivar. Firth is straight.” She tried to push past the demon who caught her arm.

“No. It’s because I don’t know what I want. I feel...guilty. Leaving Dylan like this. Knowing we might not come back for a very long time.”

“Will you send for him? If we do make a settlement? Will you ask him to come?” Tiffany asked bluntly.

“Tiff, you’re going to die someday,” Ishkar sighed. 

“Right. So for now I’m a placeholder and when I’m gone you can stop feeling guilty?” Tiffany snapped. 

Ishkar groaned and let her go. “I don’t know!”

“Well neither do I,” Tiffany said. She looked the demon over, aching to hold her. But it was too much. She needed something and Ishkar only took. So she shook her head. “I asked for a room far from yours. Enjoy celibacy. I joined the rotation.” 

Ishkar jerked as Tiffany strode past her. She frowned. Guilt might eat her alive. 

OLIVAR had a grudging amount of respect for his crew. He had always respected their abilities but sitting down with them gave him more to respect. The dragon triplets had worked hard in the Under World to get to the Upper and were quick and strong and proud. Lira and Beck were two sides of a coin, stronger together but brilliant apart. Firth and Echo were the quiet ones, both staggeringly smart without pushing it. Tiffany was the most talented fairy Olivar had met, magic wise and even Estar was someone he could agree to working well with. She was smart, if not one to push his buttons but he respected even that. He supposed he’d need some kind of challenge on the long trek across space. Even Sarah, the human he’d been forced to accept, gained a grain of acceptance as she spoke with him about her midwifery and grunge work on the colony. She might not have been magical, but she was physically strong for a human and her will was absolute. 

He left his final meeting and leaned against the wall, rubbing his forehead. They would leave in the morning. He still couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the scope of this mission but he was ready. Go to a new galaxy. Research the planets and if there was a way ...form a new home. This would be like nothing IMSA had ever done before. It surpassed any human space flight. They were changing history. He just hoped he could bring them all home in the end. He didn’t see Estar watching him as he pushed off the wall and headed for his quarters. He needed to sleep before he checked on the ship in the morning. He needed to be ready. 

It was nearly time.


	6. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew's first day in space.

_ “ALPINE Clematis  _ is ready for takeoff,” the crew heard over the loudspeaker. They were sitting in the small flight cabin. It was a safety precaution for takeoff. All of their personal belongings had been searched and sealed into bags and left in their cabins. Only Lira and Beck had a double cabin, their things sealed together. Their freeze dried food, the things they couldn’t grow inside the ship, was locked away, magic making the storage spaces bigger without being heavier, and every bit of tech they could possibly need was also locked away. Once they’d begun their true flight they would unpack and fill the ship so it felt more like a home but for now, they pressed together like sardines in a can and held their breath. 

Beck and Lira held hands, the witch offering her free hand to Sarah who took it. The triplets too clung to one another, no gloves on their fingers. Estar prayed softly as the ship began to shake. The large spacecraft used a mix of human fire power and demon magic to lift it from the ground. There were demons on the ground, coaxing it up even as the rockets began to burn. Olivar watched the ship’s gauges with a sharp eye and Tiffany breathed carefully through her nose. Firth only closed her eyes. This was always the worst part.

The ten second countdown felt like an eternity but finally, finally, they were in the air. Blasting off the ground was something no creature ever expected in their first days on Earth. It wasn’t natural and yet here they were, barreling towards the stars. They were silent as they went, listening to the ground control discuss the flight. Ishkar felt her bond strain and knew the moment they’d passed out of the atmosphere. Silence in her mind, a hole where Dylan had been. She took a shuddering breath and for once, Moss said nothing, only squeezed her hand. Then it was blissful. Dark and silent and vast. The gravity setting had to be manually turned on and Estar smacked Tiffany’s seat. 

“Time to go to work,” she told the fairy who nodded and unstrapped, floating up and following the demon co-pilot towards the controls with handles on the ceiling. The others watched them go.

“No turning back now,” Sarah muttered. Lira flashed her smile.

“It’ll be fun,” she said. 

THE first day of space flight was always used for getting ready. There was no new science to be done in that first week and the crew of any deep space mission would spend the time tidying their new spaces, making the living areas feel friendly, and making sure all systems on the ship were functioning correctly. It was an odd kind of busy and Sarah finished her setting up quickly, sitting on the bed and looking out the small window at the stars. Somehow, out here, they seemed even further away. Her job on the ship was minimal. She was only on the trip as the single human. 

It had been the compromise of IMSA and NASI. To work together and share information, a single human needed to be included on each mission. At the start, IMSA had needed that help. NASI had the funds and the scientists and IMSA had only immortals who yearned for the sky. Now it was an old treaty they followed because no one cared to revisit it. NASI felt included and IMSA simply didn’t care about their loaned humans. Before she’d left, Sarah had talked to Rebecca about her lack of a job on the ship and Rebecca had laughed. 

“Just sit back and enjoy the ride,” the girl had said. 

Sarah wasn’t sure how she was supposed to do that. It would take 30 years to reach Neptune. She’d be 60, though with the ingesting of demon blood, she wouldn’t look it. Her only job was to catalouge what they used on the ship and pull things out of the reserve (a magical storage unit that made her shiver when she went near it) when they needed it. Since they wouldn’t come close to touching the reserve until year 150, she was left to wander and take in what the others did. Firth had expressed a need for help organizing but showed no want for help in the medical bay and even if one of the crew members did get pregnant, Sarah had never worked with Other Kind before and she would be out of her depth. Firth, however, knew all about Other Kind bodies and Sarah had seen her studying demon anatomy for all of their days during training. 

She felt worthless. Watching the dark sky go by, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever feel less alone. 

Olivar was running around the ship. When Estar had chided him for literally running, he’d slowed to a brisk walk but he didn’t slow by much. He needed to check everything and the ship was large. He found Beck at the core panels, hands flat on each door and eyes closed.

“Have you unpacked?” he asked.

She cracked an eye open and shook her head. “I like to feel my ship, first. Introduce myself.” 

The core of an IMSA ship was made with demon  _ bludstones.  _ The stones were the heart of demonic power and were made in the creation pits in the Under World. It had been one of IMSA’s founding members who had come up with the idea. Pure blooded demons were made with the stones but as the Upper World came to accept those that lived there, the pits became more obscure. With the fall of the royal line, the strongest demons in existence were no longer allowed to use them. So IMSA had bought them. The strongest demon stones in the world now powered starships. 

“They don’t have a soul,” Olivar said. 

“You’re Fae. You can’t feel it. This ship is alive. We make them that way. I could always hear the song. Energy power is in my blood,” she said with a small smile. “This is a good one. Strong. She wants to run.”

“The  _ Alpine  _ is a ship, not a woman,” Olivar said. His other core technicians had never mentioned the feeling but then, Beck had been known for her intuition with the cores. She’d caught flaws and meltdowns before anyone could feel a ship tremble. He’d wanted her on this mission for that very reason.

“Maybe not, but I like to think of it that way. And she is alive. She purrs for you. You’ve been here a lot. Checking on her. You fixed one of the stones. She’s thankful,” Beck replied. 

“I did,” he said, surprised. It was in the ship log but he knew without asking that Beck hadn’t looked. 

“She’s a good core. She’ll sing for me, too. I needed to say hello. Now I can get unpacked,” she said with a beaming smile at him. She stepped around him and left the room. 

Cores were filled with demonic energy. They throbbed with them. Olivar had never minded that. To him, they felt heavy and warm, like a blanket on his shoulders. He looked around the room. “Hello,” he greeted softly. For a moment, it felt as if the core hugged him in greeting. He inhaled deeply, then turned to go. 

Lira, Echo, Tiffany, and Moss stood in the nature level. 

“It’s a fucking park,” Moss said in awe. She had seeds to plan for the years to come but the  _ Alpine  _ had its own ecosystem. There was even a deep pool in the center with fish swimming in it. 

“There’s a livestock section. Small ones, but enough for fresh meat if we don’t kill them right off,” Lira said, reading the checklist. 

“And the water system is linked to here,” Echo said. “We have the ice vat that I’ll control but-”

“I’m keeping up the watering. I know,” Lira said with a nod.

“And the air system is all linked to here. This is...amazing. I’ve never seen a ship like this,” Tiffany said.

“Well you’ve also never flown for nearly 200 years just to reach a destination,” Lira added. Tiffany nodded. 

“True.” 

“This whole floor is ours to control,” Echo said. It seemed impossible. Moss grinned.

“So many trees. I love it.”

“I can help,” Tiffany offered. It was part of her job. To help grow the plants in the nature section. Moss knew that but still, she scowled.

“Maybe,” she said sourly. 

“I left your sister. Maybe you can be nicer to me now,” Tiffany said flatly.

“How about we just focus on what we have to do right now? The animals are in stasis and we need to wake them. Tiff, you need to check the air system. Echo, the ice vat, and  _ then  _ maybe all three of us can keep track of the plants,” Lira said, looking between the fairy and dragon. Lira too would help with the plants. It was the biggest job on the ship and though Moss didn’t want to admit it, she would need the help. 

Moss nodded, tight lipped. “I’ll check the seed dispensary,” she said before huffing and flouncing off. 

Tiffany groaned when she was gone. “I’m not even with Ish right now and she hates me. How are we going to deal with all these years?”

“It’s a big ship,” Lira said with a shrug. Tiffany laughed slightly. 

“At least you’re being...you,” Tiffany said to Echo who only shrugged.

“It’s not my business,” he said before wandering towards the ice vat. 

“Ish will be busy running the systems on the ship and then doing the experiments. Maybe I won’t see her much,” Tiffany told Lira lightly. 

They’d trained together before, mostly in refresher courses before different missions so Lira felt safe asking, “Is that what you want?”

Tiffany didn’t bother to respond. She bit the inside of her lip and turned to look at the different doors leading off of the garden area. “I’m going to check the air system,” she said. Lira nodded and watched her go. All the while, she felt blessed that it wasn’t her. 

Ishkar ran her hands over the exposed wires and systems in the bottom of the ship. Her spaces were near the core room and she could feel the energy pulsing. She was alone and it was how she liked it. Beck had run to the core first and Ishkar had purposely taken her time in unpacking so she wouldn’t need to be in the same area as the loud demon. She just needed a break. The rotation schedule had been posted before they left and she’d stared at it. The starkness of it. Tiffany’s name a shot to her very soul.

First day: Tiffany and Echo, Moss and Olivar, Sarah and Estar. Off day: Firth, Ishkar. That had confused Ishkar who had been sure the human girl was straight. 

Second day: Tiffany and Olivar, Firth and Echo, Sarah and Ishkar. Off day: Ishkar, Moss. She assumed her sister would ask to be off Sarah’s rotation after their first round but despite her complaining, she wouldn’t turn down the chance. 

Third day: Firth and Olivar, Estar and Echo, Tiffany and Ishkar. Off day: Moss, Sarah. Ishkar shivered. Tiffany hadn’t asked to be taken off her rotation. 

Fourth Day: Sarah and Echo, Tiffany and Estar. Off day: Firth, Olivar, Moss, and Ishkar. That one made Ishkar laugh. The restrictions of siblings and sexuality made it tough.

Fifth day: Olivar and Ishkar, Tiffany and Sarah, Ishkar and Estar. Off day: Firth and Echo. 

Sixth Day: Sarah and Olivar, Echo and Firth, Tiffany and Moss. Off day: Ishkar and Estar. It would change, she knew, once everyone had preferences. But for the start, it was fairly even and she sighed at it. Part of her just wanted to take her name off the list but she knew she’d need it. She chuckled slightly at Olivar’s name. He would be busy. He was the only one not related to anyone and so he would be the one dealing with all the women. At least until they all picked favorites. She wondered if the fairy captain had ever had a favorite or if he would say it if he did. 

She pushed the rotation from her mind. She had to keep the ship running and other than Estar and Beck, she would be alone in that work. It wasn’t impossible and she would still have time to do the work with her siblings when the time came but she didn’t really want to focus on Tiffany and work felt like the safest option to keep her mind occupied. She thoroughly checked every pipe and wire, the electricity in the ship humming through her. She let that fill the hole that Dylan’s mark in her mind had made as soon as they had passed out of the Earth’s atmosphere. When the bell rang for dinner, she wiped grease onto a towel and slid her gloves on. 

Firth had spent her day organizing the medical bay. They’d had a pool installed for her and when she was finished, she soaked, letting the gills on her neck open and suck in water deeply. She let out a gurgling purr. She was dozing when the dinner bell came and she toweled off, changing into her shorts and T-shirt before heading to dinner. 

Everyone would wear their usual Earth clothes after the initial takeoff. They’d been able to bring all of their clothing and anything of importance to them. The amount of time in space could harm anyone’s mental state and IMSA was dedicated to keeping their astronauts as long as possible. Civilian clothing was encouraged.

Still, Firth was the only one in her regular clothes when she made it to the dining area. She was the last to arrive and Estar was pouring rehydrated soup into bowls.

“Firth! How’s the clinic?” she asked.

“Good. I like the pool in there,” Firth said, blushing slightly.

“That’s why your hair is wet,” Echo said mildly.

Firth nodded. “I was adjusting the heat,” she said. “Then it was so comfortable I just...stayed.” 

“Take it while you can. I expect you’ll be elbow deep in people by the time we start working on our experiments,” Moss said. 

Firth nodded seriously. “I’m ready.”

“And Sarah, are  _ you  _ ready?” Moss asked snidely.

“Um...for what?” Sarah asked, cheeks pink.

“Cooking and cleaning. You know. What humans are good for,” Moss grinned.

“Hell, Moss! It’s our first night. Can’t you be nice for like, a minute?” Tiffany snapped.

“Oh is she your new girlfriend?” Moss purred.

Tiffany sniffed. “I’m just trying to be a decent person. Fuck.” 

“Pass the bread,” Olivar said over the women. Beck was quick to hand it to him. 

“Is that why she’s on your rotation?” Moss asked.

“So are you. And Ish. We’re  _ all  _ on it. Can’t you just leave me alone?” Tiffany demanded.

“How about we change the subject,” Estar said loudly, her voice making it clear it was not a request. A tight silence followed the words and shyly, Sarah asked,

“Why are these ships so much bigger than NASI’s?” 

It was a good question to ask. IMSA employees had nothing but sarcasm and mild contempt for NASI and they could all speak for hours on why IMSA was a better organization. The American division was especially well funded, followed only by the New English Isles division which was the core of Fae power. 

“Humans are small minded,” Lira said, speaking over Beck’s scoff. “Which means they don’t think to expand like we do. They also don’t have the abilities we do and they don’t want to allow us to help them.”

“IMSA asked NASI to merge with them last decade,” Estar said. That was public knowledge but it caused Sarah’s eyes to widen. “But they didn’t take us up on it. They want to stay human centered and that means they can’t do what we can with the space.”

“Magic gets your stuff working, right?” Sarah asked.

“Our ‘stuff’ runs on both magic and the other sciency things NASI runs on,” Ishkar said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “But humans don’t like magic so they rely on old technology.”

“Would you call the core technology?” Beck asked curiously.

“I would,” Ishkar said. “It keeps the whole ship running. It keeps the computers going, the pipes flowing, the electricity and heat moving. That makes it technology.”

“Is it technology inside of you?” Beck asked. She didn’t sound upset but Ishkar and Moss still bristled. Echo only listened. He too was interested in the idea. 

“It’s life in us,” Moss snapped.

“I don’t mean to sound rude,” Beck said with a small smirk. “It’s just that the core is made of the same thing that made you three. And you, Estar. So doesn’t that make it a living thing?”

“In the way engineers think their engines are living, yes. There’s a difference,” Ishkar said stiffly.

“Why?” Beck asked.

“I don’t need to explain it to you,” Ishkar said.

“If it’s just a feeling, that’s fine too,” Lira said softly. 

“True,” Beck said, waving her spoon. “I’m really just curious why you think like that. You know I’m a core engineer. To me, it’s the same. Doesn’t the core room call to you?” 

Ishkar and the others shook their heads. Beck only shrugged. “Then it’s just me. That’s fine. This soup is good.”

“You...feel the core?” Sarah asked softly.

“Some demons are like that. Like how Fae feel the Earth and witches feel the pulse of all living things,” Firth said. She’d read about the differences in a book recently. 

“But not all,” Echo added, nodding when Firth smiled at him. “Energy prone demons can feel that pulse. The rest of us, especially dragons, are tied to our elemental powers. I can feel the water and ice. Ish feels the electricity and Moss feels the trees and plants.” 

“What about chaos demons or not energy prone demons?” Tiffany asked. She too was sucked into the conversation.

Beck shrugged as Estar answered. “Sometimes they’re tied to nothing but sin. That’s changed a lot since we’ve accepted a place with humans, though. When I was created it had begun to change.”

“My grandmother and grandfather were energy workers but the others in our family weren’t. They could read people really well. They always knew the worst ones in the room. All demons can feel energy like Fae can, kinda, but it’s just not as deep,” Beck explained. 

“Olivar,” Firth said, the name quiet on her lips. The man looked up. “What did you start as?”

Olivar couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his face. “I was a star finder.”

“Really?” Firth asked, eyes wide. Her second set of eyelids blinked twice rapidly. Star finders were rare now but it had been a prestigious job when it existed. 

He nodded. “I felt for stars. I spent days alone in orbit, charting each call of Andromeda that I could feel.”

“Is that why you don’t like people?” Moss asked bluntly. Ishkar choked and Estar laughed. 

“I’ve never liked people much, if you must know,” he told the green dragon dryly. “I became a star finder because of that.”

“And now you’re a captain so you need to deal with it,” Estar said cheerfully. Tiffany laughed. 

Olivar sniffed but kept his mouth shut. She wasn’t wrong. She hadn’t been about most things and while that frustrated him, he couldn’t do much about it.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly and Olivar explained how the lighting in the ship would be used to simulate days, as the vastness of space could throw off anyone’s inner clock. Sarah was the only one who was truly put off by the idea of endless night but she hid that. After the discussion was over they all broke off to their rooms. Some went to call loved ones while others simply decided to relax. They would take the calm as it came, most of them knowing that by the time they passed a year, it would be harder to find time to rest. 


End file.
